EU militaries
Iran labels EU militaries as terrorist groups amid rising tensions
Iran’s parliament on Sunday labeled all EU militaries as terrorist groups in response to the EU’s designation of its Revolutionary Guard..
Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Guard commander, said the designation is largely symbolic. Iran has previously used a 2019 law to reciprocally label foreign militaries as terror groups after the United States classified the Guard as such that year.
The announcement comes amid heightened Middle East tensions, with U.S. President Donald Trump weighing potential military action against Iran. The country has also scheduled live-fire drills in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade passes.
Qalibaf and other lawmakers donned Guard uniforms during the parliamentary session in a show of support. He criticized the EU, saying their decision to target the Guard “goes against the interests of their own people” and blamed the bloc for following U.S. influence. Lawmakers later chanted anti-American and anti-Israel slogans.
Trump has warned Iran against killing peaceful protesters or executing detainees in the crackdown. He also raised concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, which was previously the subject of negotiations with the U.S. before Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran last June, during which the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Satellite observations suggest Iran may be trying to obscure activity at two of the sites.
Trump, speaking to reporters en route to Florida, avoided confirming any military decision, but reiterated that Iran should reach a “satisfactory” nuclear deal. “I don’t know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani tweeted that “structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” though no direct talks with the U.S. have been confirmed, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeatedly ruling them out.
6 hours ago